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Keir Starmer has asserted that the Gaza ceasefire agreement "would not have occurred without President Trump's leadership," yet stopped short of supporting the US president for a Nobel peace prize.

Ceasefire Deal Hailed as a "Welcome Development to the Globe"

The prime minister remarked that the first phase of the deal would be a "welcome news globally" and highlighted that the United Kingdom had played its own role in private discussions with the US and negotiators.

Speaking on the last day of his trade visit to India, Starmer emphasized that the agreement "must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the prompt removal of all limitations on critical humanitarian aid to Gaza."

Peace Prize Question Addressed

However, when questioned if the Nobel committee should now award Trump the prestigious prize, the Prime Minister suggested that time was needed to know if a longer lasting peace could be attained.

"What matters now is to press on and implement this ... my attention now is transitioning this from the stage it's at now ... and ensure the success of this, because that matters to me more than anything else," he stated at a press conference in India's financial capital.

Business Deals Revealed During India Visit

The Prime Minister has celebrated a number of deals finalized during his visit to the country – his first time there – joined by 126 business leaders and cultural leaders. The visit marks the implementation of the two nations' free trade agreement.

• No 10 has unveiled a range of financial commitments, from financial technology to university campuses, as well as the production of multiple Indian movies in the United Kingdom.
• On the final day, Starmer signed a military agreement worth £350 million for British-made missiles, produced in Northern Ireland, to be deployed by the Indian army.

"The shared history is deep, the human connections between our citizens are truly special," Starmer remarked as he departed Mumbai. "Building on our landmark agreement, we are reinventing this partnership for our times."

Digital Identification Initiative Studied

The Prime Minister has spent time in India studying the national digital identification program, including consulting key figures who designed the widespread system utilized by more than 1 billion people for social services, transactions, and verification.

He suggested that the UK was considering expanding the application of digital identification beyond making it mandatory to prove rights to work. He proposed that the Britain would eventually look at linking it to banking and transaction networks – on a optional basis – as well as for official procedures such as home loan and school applications.

"It has been adopted on a voluntary basis [in India] in huge numbers, partly because it ensures that you can retrieve your own funds, conduct transactions so much more easily than is possible with alternative methods," he explained.

"The efficiency with which it enables residents here to utilize facilities, particularly financial services, is something that was recognized in our talks recently, and in fact a financial technology conversation that we had as well. So we're examining those instances of how digital ID assists people with processes that sometimes take too long and are overly complex and simplifies them for them."

Public Support for Changes

The Prime Minister admitted that the government had to make the case for the reforms to the UK citizens, which have plummeted in public approval since he proposed them.

"I think now we need to go out and advocate for the huge benefits ... And I think that the greater number of individuals see the positive outcomes that come with this ... as has occurred in different nations, people say: 'That will simplify my daily routine,' and consequently I want to get on with it," he stated.

Rights Issues and International Relations Discussed

The Prime Minister said he had raised a number of difficult topics with the Indian leader regarding human rights and relations with Russia, though he seemed to have made minimal progress. Starmer confirmed that he and Modi talked about how India was continuing to buy oil from Russia, which is subject to extensive international restrictions.

"For prime minister Modi and myself the priority on ending this situation and the various steps will be taken to that end," he commented. "This included a broad spectrum of discussion, but we outlined the actions that we are undertaking in regarding energy."

Starmer also said he had brought up the situation of the UK-based activist Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, who has been held in an Indian prison for nearly eight years without undergoing a full trial. It is often cited as one of the most egregious cases of unfair treatment among UK nationals currently detained abroad.

However, he did not suggest much advancement had been achieved. "Indeed, we did raise the diplomatic matters," he said. "We always raise them when we have the chance to do so. I should say that the top diplomat is meeting the families in the near future, as well as raising it now."

Future Plans

The prime minister is largely anticipated to take a similar trade-focused visit to China in the next 12 months as part of a mission to improve relations between the United Kingdom and China.

This bilateral connection is receiving attention because of the collapse of a Chinese spying case, said to have happened because the British authorities has been unwilling to provide fresh evidence that China is considered a security risk.

The Prime Minister clarified the United Kingdom was eager to pursue additional commercial partnerships but stated that a commercial agreement with China was not on the agenda. "It is not a priority, for a trade deal as such, but our position is to cooperate where we are able, confront where we must, and that's been the consistent policy of the government in regarding China."